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'Amazing activist' remembered

Debi Wells, the president of the Limestone Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario and former president of the Kingston and District Labour Council, died on Friday after a brief illness. (Ian MacAlpine/The Whig-Standard)

A longtime union leader, community activist and supporter of many local causes has died.

Debi Wells, who was president of the Limestone chapter of the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO), died on Friday after a short illness.

Wells was also the former president of the Kingston and District Labour Council.

She was a former public school French teacher and has worked in a variety of roles with the local chapter of the ETFO, and has served as president for the past year, taking over from Mike Lumb.

Lisa Marion, a Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) national representative, worked with Wells on the Kingston and District Labour Council issues.

“Debi was just an amazing activist for any sort of people who were in poverty or anything where people were the underdogs. She was always fighting for the underdog,” Marion said.

“As a labour council president, she was tenacious in everything she did. She was very active in women’s issues, poverty issues and always active in anything that was fighting for people’s rights.”

Marion said some of Wells’ issues were promoting locally produced food, providing a living wage for all and women’s rights.

Those were some of the causes Wells promoted on social media, such as Tim Hortons providing workers with paid breaks, fixing the funding formula for schools, and the International Women’s March, which Wells attended in late January on Parliament Hill.

Tributes flowed in on her Facebook page after her death, with about two dozen posts and comments about her.

“Deb fought to make this world better for everyone, for the rights of women, workers, for equality in the workplace, for every single person in need,” wrote Andrew McFayden on Wells’ Facebook page. “She fought for you and for me, and she did so with remarkable strength and determination. She was a hero — a real everyday hero. International Women’s Day was built around the strength of women like Deb, and is a day to recognize the example women like her set across the globe. I’m glad she got to see one last day honouring women just like her, and I know she’s inspired countless women to follow in her footsteps.”

Marion said Wells was going to retire this summer and devote more time to her volunteer causes.

“She was into everything. Her plan was to move into helping at Loving Spoonful,” Marion said. “She was already planning what kind of volunteer work she could do as part of that retirement.

“Anything to do with human rights, anything to do with poverty, for accessible housing, making a living wage, she was at the forefront of everything.

“Everything that had to do with her community, that had to do with its quality, she was just a forerunner who was just a wonderful and amazing person.”

Joan Jardin, district officer for Limestone District 27 of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF), also served with Wells as a second vice-president with the labour council.

Jardin said she and Wells had offices across the parking lot from each other in Kingston’s west end and would often meet to discuss both public and secondary school teacher issues.

“We would meet and collaborate a whole bunch because she always put her members first and tried to make life better for people,” Jardin said. “We’ve worked collaboratively, and in the early 2000s I was the local president and we really supported each other on issues and compared ideas, and it was hers and Mike [Lumb’s] openness that helped us achieve a better education system. It was also her ability to problem solve, work out together and seek input.”

Jardin said Wells looked forward to volunteering, as both women were going to be retiring around the same time later this year.

“I have to say I was hoping to wreak havoc on Kingston in an activist kind of way with her,” she said. “The two of us working together to exact even more change and to make things in Kingston even better.”

With the labour council, Jardin worked with Wells several years ago with a group opposed to Kingston General Hospital’s move to bring in patient meals from sources outside of Kingston. She said Wells was a strong advocate for using local food sources.

“She tried to push local food, and since then restaurants do local food. There’s more of a push and awareness of what that group did, and I think all the good work that group did, especially Debi, has really helped us change in Kingston to not only say we value it but actively seek it out.”

Jardin said she could go on and on about Wells’ accomplishments.

“I’d be happy to talk all day about Debi, because she was a very good friend,” Jardin said. “I’m going to miss her every day.”